Home Office Analysis and Insight Directorate

The Home Office Analysis and Insight Directorate (HOAI) is 'a Directorate within the Home Office employing more than 350 analysts, including social and operational researchers, economists, statisticians and data scientists. Their role is to provide the best possible evidence to underpin policy-making, working in high profile areas such as crime and policing, counter-terrorism, extremism, borders and migration.'

2020-2021

• Counter-Terrorism Analysis and Insight (CTAI) CTAI produce cutting-edge analysis to support policy colleagues within the CONTEST and OSCT directorates, working across the four P’s (Prevent, Pursue, Protect and Prepare) in the UK’s Counter-Terrorism Strategy, CONTEST. One of the analytical products that the unit produces is the annual statistics on ‘Individuals referred to and supported through the Prevent programme’, which looks at the age, gender, region and type of concern of those referred, and how these individuals progress through the programme. Analysts in CTAI have been working with policy colleagues and Channel Practitioners to improve the quality of these statistics. The analysts, in collaboration with policy colleagues, have created a data standard inputting manual, to add further data validation to the data recording system and to create an updated training course for Practitioners.

• Counter-Extremism Analysis and Insight (CEAI) CEAI is a multi-disciplinary team of social researchers, intelligence analysts and economists providing expert analysis, research and evaluation on extremism and hate crime. They work closely with partners within government and draw expertise from outside government, to provide advice, strengthen the evidence base and fill knowledge gaps. Their analysis informs strategic and operational decisions to counter-extremism and tackle hate crime. This is based on a good understanding of the problem and effective interventions, sharing their insight across government.They are in the process of bringing in data scientists/statisticians to help them collate data, online and offline, to help them measure the scale and impact of extremism and hate crime.

After this it appears that Counter extremism was folded into the Counter terrorism team.

2023

The Directorate was reported in 2023 to be 'led by Simon Palmer' and 'brings together economists, statisticians, operational and social researchers, intelligence analysts and others to provide analysis and insight throughout the development and implementation of policy, as well as supporting operational decision making.'

The statistical teams sit within larger organisational units, again, grouped by broad policy areas. Information about these policy areas and the work of the statistical teams in each of these units is given below.

1) Migration and Borders Statistics on migration and borders are covered by the following units:

• Managed Migration Analysis
• Immigration System Statistics and Refugees Analysis and Insight
• Protection and Enforcement Analysis and Insight
• Borders Analysis
• Performance Reporting and Analysis Unit

These teams publish a range of statistics on different aspects of the immigration system. They ensure that the migration statistics are kept under review, and that they are continually improved to enhance both the statistics themselves and users’ understanding of the data. They work in partnership with the Office for National Statistics (ONS), devolved administrations and other government departments to develop understanding of the migration statistics and improve the migration evidence base, including as part of the cross-government work to put administrative data at the core of migration statistics.

2) Public Safety Statistics covering public safety (which includes crime, policing, fire, and drugs and alcohol) are covered by the following units:

• Crime Analysis Unit
• Police and Fire Analysis Unit
• Drugs, Exploitation and Abuse Analysis Unit

These teams analyse and publish a wide range of statistics, including those on police recorded crime and the outcomes of related police investigations, hate crime, crime against businesses, the police workforce, police powers and procedures, incidents attended by fire and rescue services, drug seizures, and licensing statistics. Crime Analysis Unit also oversee the annual publication of the Home Office Counting Rules for Recorded Crime which underpin the police recorded crime statistics and work closely with Office for National Statistics (ONS) on the production of quarterly crime statistics, and more focused compendium publications. These teams also engage in more formal mechanisms for managing data collection burdens placed on suppliers. Data collections from police forces are governed by the Annual Data Requirement, which covers the range of new data collections requested from police forces by government and the wider policing family. Every year, data collections are reviewed to ensure their continued relevance. Teams work closely with policy officials, police force analysts and police IT specialists to ensure that the data collections included are proportionate, necessary, of high quality and technically feasible. Data collections from Fire and Rescue Services (FRSs) and other local authorities are governed by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) Single Data List (SDL) process, which includes working with local authority representatives to review and consider the data burdens involved in data collections. Furthermore, statisticians in the Police and Fire Analysis Unit also lead on the allocation of around £9 billion to the 43 police forces in England and Wales.

3) Homeland Security Homeland Security Analysis and Insight (HSAI) are the analytical leads for the Homeland Security policy area. This team produces quarterly statistics on the operation of police powers under the Terrorism Act (TACT) 2000 and subsequent legislation, which provides data on terrorism-related arrests, outcomes, and the use of stop and search powers under TACT 2000 in Great Britain. The team are also responsible for producing the annual statistics on individuals referred to and supported through the Prevent Programme, and provides regular insight and analysis to the policy teams in Home Office Homeland Security Group. The team works closely with partners within government and draws expertise from outside government, to provide advice, strengthen the evidence base and fill knowledge gaps. Their analysis informs strategic and operational decisions in the counter-terrorism and counter-extremism spaces, providing a good understanding of the problem and effective interventions, sharing insight across government.

4) Central and cross-cutting The Central Analytical Services team provide central statistical advice and steer for the statistical community across Home Office. They help transform the way statistics and underlying data are produced across HOAI, and build relationships with colleagues across all work areas, helping them to modernise their processes, while maintaining high quality outputs. A key aim for this team is to develop innovative products and systems, to drastically reduce the time spent on producing routine outputs, resulting in a better skilled workforce and more robust outputs. This allows statisticians to reallocate their time, while applying their new skills, to focus on new and exciting projects, allowing the Home Office to provide more value and insight to users of its data.

5) Other statistical work and teams Alongside our statistical data collections and releases, Home Office statisticians play an important role in ensuring the Home Office meets its public and parliamentary obligations. Across all the teams, we provide comprehensive briefing for ministers and policy teams and draft responses to numerous Parliamentary Questions, Freedom of Information requests and ad hoc queries.

As well as the teams described above, there are also a number of professional statistical staff who work within other areas of the Home Office, or in the Arm’s Length Bodies. A selection of these teams is summarised below.

• Performance Reporting and Analysis Unit (PRAU) PRAU produce management information and analysis to support the department in managing performance and risk effectively. The unit’s work is wide ranging from providing strategic analysis to the Department’s senior boards to implementing Vantage - the new Borders, Immigration and Citizenship System’s (BICS) management information system. Each quarter, PRAU publish the Migration Transparency publication, comprising of statistics which illustrate the performance of the BICS. The publication currently consists of more than 80 data tables (down from over 100) with new tables being considered for inclusion (and existing ones for removal) each quarter through a well-established governance process. In quarter 1 (January to March) 2020, data was included for the first time on the Windrush Compensation Scheme, which has received much media and parliamentary attention.

• Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) The MAC is an advisory non-departmental public body consisting of labour market and migration experts supported by a secretariat of economists, statisticians, social researchers, operational researchers and policy officials. The team respond to commissions from the Home Secretary, and in addition carry out analysis using linked data sets from across government to evaluate the immigration system.

• HM Inspectorate of the Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS) HMICFRS assesses the effectiveness and efficiency of police forces and fire and rescue services. The ‘Better Inspections Portfolio’ (BIP) within HMICFRS is a multi-disciplinary analytical team responsible for using data, analysis, knowledge and digital skills to inform and improve inspections through insight and evaluation. HMICFRS uses data it collects directly from forces and services, as well as information provided to the Home Office and other government departments, to produce analysis via PowerBI dashboards. These dashboards present the data in an accessible format to inspection staff, forces and services; allowing them to drill-down into data of interest.